Prom 75 - 7.09.13: Last Night of the Proms

[Petrushka]

And if you can throw in the New Year's All-Male StraussFest from Vienna too I'll be made up

You can cancel it yourself with the 'off' button.

[Serial_Apologist]

Ah but if you cancel the LNotP you will have another LNotP to sort out!

Oh I didn't think of that...

[Barbirollians]

I've been to the Last Night a few times; Pritchard in 1989, Andrew Davis in 1991 and 1992 and Slatkin in 2001 among them. They had a good and substantial first half in those days with enough of a draw to pull in the punters. You could go home at the interval satisfied that you'd heard a good concert. We had Tatiana Nikolayeva playing Shostakovich and Gwyneth Jones in Wagner for instance. Nowadays it's just, as Salymap says, 'a mish-mash' with no coherence as a programme at all.

The Last Night of the Proms is a parody of itself and it's not only Roger Wright who doesn't know what to do with it. Does anyone?



I started a thread once asking: 'What DO you want for the LNotP?' Perhaps the thread needs resurrecting.

Didn't Ida Haendel play the Saint Saens 3 in 1989 ?

[Petrushka]

Didn't Ida Haendel play the Saint Saens 3 in 1989 ?

She did indeed. Sir John Pritchard was very ill that night and died shortly afterwards. Indeed JP was so ill that the BBC were seriously concerned that he wouldn't make it to the end of the Prom and that came from Sir John Drummond backstage after the concert where I happened to be lurking.

[Barbirollians]

She did indeed. Sir John Pritchard was very ill that night and died shortly afterwards. Indeed JP was so ill that the BBC were seriously concerned that he wouldn't make it to the end of the Prom and that came from Sir John Drummond backstage after the concert where I happened to be lurking.

I remember watching it and thinking how terrible he looked poor chap .

Ida played her socks off as I recall - I am sure that is also available on You Tube .

Indeed , here it is ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJWnCn0GgG8

[amateur51]

Here's JP making his one and only Last Night speech - I've seen this many times and still find it very moving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KyK7tqM59w

[teamsaint]

Now,there's a wonderful piece and - to this day- I don't know why there was such a fuss about it!

bit too close to home?

anyway, mozzer would surely improve the LNP........

[amac4165]

It's interesting that a large proportion of Prommers, those who have stood in the Arena for many nights, never go to the Last Night.This applies equally to season ticket holders who are entitled to go. In spite of the fact that they are supposed to be guaranteed entry, there is a complicated rigmarole with roll calls and name checks, and you still have to be there for hours beforehand.

I tend to go once every 3 or 4 years - if only to remind myself how awful it is ! The queuing really only applies if you want to be in the first 2 or 3 rows and get your face on TV

There was a "lengthy" discussion last week about queue arrangements - the upshot was that for this year things remain the same - although next year I suspect they may change.

I as have said many many times to any one who will listen - they really need to go the way of the Vienna New Years Concert. A "popular" program of favorites (which get done anyway during the course of the season) overture - concerto - interval - symphony. After which "if requested" there might be some time left for encores which might just happen to be some old favorites.

[MrGongGong]

Now,there's a wonderful piece and - to this day- I don't know why there was such a fuss about it!

Nor me...... I thought it fitted in really well
(though I was disappointed not to see Mr Marr on guitar )

[mercia]

The Trinidad March

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01g67c4

[Anna]

The Trinidad March
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01g67c4

Thanks for that mercia, interesting clip. As I will be at home (and to be honest, hadn't realised it was the Last Night, I thought we had a couple of weeks to go, but perhaps this year it seems to have gone on forever with no highlights?) it will be on, even if in the background. I somehow feel having gone through all the Proms we should listen. But, the programme does look a bit sad and sorry. Personally, I'd rather they ditched all the popular (Liverpool Anthem) and traditional nonsense (espcially Rule Britannia) and ended with a really good rousing symphony and go out with a bang. Oh well, I guess we can red button it to Proms in the Park?
(That last suggestion was not entirely serious!)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Now,there's a wonderful piece and - to this day- I don't know why there was such a fuss about it!

No, it really wasn't making a fuss about. In fact wasn't really worth playing.

[bluestateprommer]

OK, so the LNotP proceedings have begun, with Masquerade by Anna Clyne. It was OK, pretty audience-friendly, not too cluttered (the way Anna Meredith's froms was back in 2008 - granted, that's not difficult), even if the ending dragged out slightly, admittedly an odd thing to say for so short a piece. Might make a good concert opener on this side of the pond. On to Wagner now.....

[Mary Chambers]

Oh, the shock! Has anyone noticed......this concert is apparently being conducted by a WOMAN. I think we should have been warned!

[Zucchini]

Can't afford a man these days, Mary. Women are a lot cheaper